If there’s one thing I abhor more than raw cheese, it’s gossip. More so when they try to involve me in their nit picking stories of other people’s lives. You know, I couldn’t care less who the vicar’s wife ran off with, and I could probably live without knowing how many bathrooms Mr. Singh has in his new house. It baffles me people can talk about someone’s murder and how good their garden looks in one breath. Go tell someone who actually cares about what Mrs. Khan was wearing when you saw her in the park on Sunday, because I certainly don’t.
This rant was brought to you by lack of sleep and the letter Q.

After what I wrote yesterday about this site, this was the reply:
“I noticed in my stat logs a few viewers coming from Muslim based weblogs who seem to feel what I have to say here frightens them. What they seem to fail to realize is that is it people from THEIR middle eastern homelands who come into this country and other civilized countries, wreak havoc, murder innocent people, and then dance in the streets about the tragedy, laughing at the families of those of have lost husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children and other family members…..seems you have lost sight of that. . And yet when an American becomes angry at this senseless violence, they become frightened. They say it’s people like us they fear, those who express their opinions, their anger, their outrage. Excuse me? I didn’t personally go into YOUR homeland and viciously murder thousands of innocent people in the name of some cockeyed religion. I don’t hide in mudhuts all over the middle east scheming and planning worldwide terrorist activities and not caring who gets killed in the process. I would say this about ANY country that commits the acts these people do and did. My question to those of you who don’t like what I have to say here is what the hell is the matter with your people? Why do they understand nothing but violence? What is the mindset of the people from your homelands who find murdering innocent people a form of entertainment? I have made it very, very clear on my site that I am not a politically correct person and I will voice whatever opinions I choose to on my site. If someone doesn’t like what I have to say here, don’t read it….just as I don’t read opinions I don’t care to hear. Along with the many emotions that are running through every American right now, anger is one that is most prevalent. We have a RIGHT to be angry and we have a RIGHT to express that anger. I choose to express MY anger through words. This IS a free country and one of the rights of free countries is freedom of speech, lest you’ve forgotten.”
Oh dear. It seems some people are just not even worth the effort due to their lack of intelligence and blind prejudice. But for your information, I’m not even from the Middle East. How stupid do you feel now?

This is exactly the sort of person I fear. Lack of common sense, stupidity and racism know no bounds and it’s that sort of mentality that causes such tragedies to happen.
I’m tired. I’m tired of having to defend myself and other Muslims out there who had nothing to do with what happened on September 11th 2001. The last couple of days have drained me emotionally but I fear it’s not over.
It’s a mix of emotions right now. Obviously sadness, disbelief and shock. I’m worried about people I know, love and care about over there and over here. But I’m becoming this defensive individual, who’s jumping to verbally retaliate when Muslims are being harassed. An individual who’s trying to keep track of threads at Metafilter and occasionally having to remind someone “We’re not all the same.” Trying to explain to someone that “carpet bombing Kabul” isn’t going to get us anywhere, that those are innocent people too. Reading newspaper reports of attacks on Muslim children in Australia as they take the bus to school in the morning and feeling their pain aswell as the pain of those who have lost in America. Hurting for the woman who is nearly run over by a drunk who claims she is “destorying his country” and hurting for the families who are anxious to find out where their loved ones are amongst the rubble.
I feel like my energy is going towards all this when it shouldn’t. I shouldn’t have to defend myself, prove myself. Why should I have to make clear that I condemn what happened? Of course I do. I’m human. And I am a Muslim. That doesn’t give someone an open right to ask if I’m happy about what happened. That hurts me more than I can describe.
On the other end of the spectrum, my heart has been warmed by how the majority webloggers have dealt with it all and am proud to be part of the weblogging community. Small comments saying how we should keep cool heads and not let racism dominate our actions have reaffirmed my belief that most of us are rational and intelligent beings. We’re not all the same.

Jason has archived the responses of over 100 webloggers to Tuesday’s tragedy.

There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t beeen said already, that hasn’t gone through your mind already. Our questions are yet to be answered. Who? How? Why? I just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all who have been affected by this.
Just a few links for where we can help.
Emergency and Relief Information
Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund

You think its going to be a quiet day and then…..
A third plane is said to have caused a blast at the Pentagon.
This is all a bit much to take in.

I heard Michael Jackson‘s new single and was deeply disappointed to say the least. Nothing new, nothing exciting, just generic R’n'B pap. I’ll have to comfort myself with the knowledge that at least he’s still weird.

Too….many….paint….fumes…….suffocating……

A couple of jokes for you.
David Beckham was speaking at a management conference: “The best thing about them,” he said, “is that they’re only two calories, and your mouth feels fresh for an hour”. A voice from the wings was then heard, “David, we wanted you to talk about tactics…”
A small boy arrives home with an armchair under each arm and a settee
slung across his back.
His dad goes mental.
“What on earth have I told you about accepting suites from strangers?”
[via e-mail]